Grand Ayatullah Seyyid Abul Qasim Musawi
Al-Khoei (RA) was born in Azerbaijan, Iran 15 Rajab 1317 H. / 1899 A.
D. and passed away in Najaf Al-Ashraf, Iraq on 8 Safar 1412
A.H.(August 8, 1992)
Educated in the established traditional way of Shia Theology by well
known jurists, he joined the world-renown theological institution in
the holy city of Najaf Al-Ashraf in 1912, the year he migrated from
Iran.
At an early age, he attained the degree
of ijtihad i.e. the process of arriving at judgements on points of
religious law using reason and the principles of jurisprudence. This
achievement normally warrants the title of 'Ayatullah'.
Teaching, Juristic, and Writing Merits
He taught in Najaf for over 70 years.
For 50 years, he specialized in supervising post-graduate studies,
most advanced among which is 'Bahth-al-Kharij' - Graduation Classes -
equivalent to a Doctoral thesis. Successful candidates are qualified
to practice 'Ijtihad'
He is considered as the architect of a distinct school of thought in
the priciples of jurisprudence and Islamic law, and one of the leading
exponents of 'kalam'-scholastic theology- and 'rijal'- study of the
biographies of transmitters of ahadith, the Prophetic traditions,
'fiqh'- jurisprudence- and 'tafseer'- exegesis of The Holy Qur'an. His
interests included astronomy, maths, and philosophy.
He was a prolific writer in the aforesaid disciplines. He wrote 37
books and treatises, most of which have been published. His works
include:
-
Lectures in the Principles of
Jurisprudence - 10 volumes
-
Biographies of Narrators of Tradition
- 24 volumes.
-
Islamic Law - 18 volumes.
-
Al-Bayan fi tafsir al-Qur'an ( The
Elucidation of the Exegesis of The Qur'an)
-
Minhaju-us-Saliheen (The Path of the
Righteous) - 2 volumes, reprinted 78 times ( guide book on religious
practice and law ) .
-
Anthology of Religious Questions -
Concise version of the Path of the Righteous - in Arabic, Urdu,
Farsi, English, Turkish, Thai, Malay, Indonesian, and Gujarati.
-
Mabani al-Istinbat ( Edifices of
Deduction) Principles of Jurisprudence.
-
Ajwad-at-Taqrirat (The Best of
Regulations) Principles of Jurisprudence.
-
Sharh-el-Urwatul-Wuthqa (Commentary on
The Steadfast Handle) - Jurisprudence.
-
Treatise on Suspected Attire - Risala
fil Libas Al-Mashkok, Evidential Jurisprudence.
-
Nafahat-ul Ijaz ( the Fragrance of
Miracles ), in defence of The Noble Qur'an.
His post-graduate institute normally
accommodated some 150 students, at any given time. Among the students
who attended classes and were personally supervised by Imam Al-Khoei
included
Ayatullah Al-Shaheed As-Sayyid Mohammad Baqir As-Sadr, Iraq, As-Sayyid
Mahdi Al-Hakim Mohammad Mahdi Shamsuddin ( Lebanon), Imam Mousa
As-Sadr ( Lebanon),As-Sayyid Mohammad Husain Fadhlallah ( Lebanon ),
Ayatullah Seyyid Mohammad Al-Rohani ( Iran), Ayatullah Al-Ardabili,
former Chief Justice of Iran , As-Sayyid Mohammad Ali Makki (Syria),
As-Sayyid Mohammad Ali Bahrul 'Uloom (UK), Poet Mustafa Jamaluddin (
Syria ) .
After the death of As-Sayyid Mohsin Al- Hakim in 1972, Imam Al-Khoei
succeeded him as The Grand Ayatullah ( Al-Marja'a Al-a'alam) as he was
the most knowledgeable of the 3 living Grand Ayatullahs. He had the
greatest following among the Shias worldwide.
Achievements in the
Welfare Sphere
He was fervently dedicated to
establishing welfare, social, cultural, and educational institutions
for Muslims worldwide. The following are some of the institutions he
established:
-
Al-Akhund
-
Darul Hikmah ( House of Theosophy)
-
Madinatul Ilm (City of Knowledge) in
Qom, Iran, considered one of the biggest theology centres in the
Shia world. The complex comprises the school building and living
quarters capable of accommodating 500 families.
-
As-Sayyid Al-Khoei Center in Bangkok,
Thailand.
-
As-Sayyid Al-Khoei Center in Dhakkah,
Bangladesh.
-
Ahlul-Bayt University, Islamabad,
Pakistan.
-
Imam Al-Khoei Orphanage Beirut,
Lebanon
-
Imam As-Sadiq Education Institute for
Boys, London, U.K.
-
Imam As-Sadiq Education Institute for
Girls, London, U.K.
-
Al-Iman School, New York, U.S.A.
He was also the patron of about 1,000
grant-maintained students of theology from Iraq and other countries
like Lebanon, Syria, Gulf States, India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan,
South East Asia. He provided financial support for maintaining the
schools including boarding expenses, teachers' salaries and lodging
costs.
Other Institutions
-
Publishing House - Translation,
printing and distribution of books worldwide, Karachi, Pakistan.
-
Cultural Complex, Bombay , India.
Considered among the biggest Shi' ite Muslims cultural centre-under
construction.
-
Representative Offices catering for
the religious, social, educational, and cultural needs of Muslims
all over the world,with the Headquarters in London, U. K. and
branches in the United States, Canada, India, Pakistan, U.A. E.,
Oman, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, North Africa, Syria, Lebanon,
Malaysia.
Imam Al-Khoei was a man of peace
dialogue and understanding. He advocated non-violence and promoted
tolerance,the values which mirror the human and universal principles
of Islam.
In the aftermath of the violent crushing of the popular uprising in
Iraq after the Gulf War by Saddam's troops, he was arrested with all
members of his family, and many ulama, taken to Baghdad, and under
duress was made to appear with Saddam on TV. Under mounting pressure,
Saddam returned him, without his family, to Najaf, where he was placed
under house arrest on the 20th of March, l99l.
Mass genocide, destruction, arrests, and displacement of civilians in
Najaf, as well as in other cities and towns in the South of Iraq and
North perpetrated by the brutal Iraqi regime, left many cities
virtually deserted and normal life came to a halt. All classes in
Najaf came to a standstill, especially after the grave restrictions
and constraints on the freedom of the Spiritual Leader. After his
death a year later, Saddam's regime closed down the institute and
deported, arrested and harrassed over 1000 students who had been
registered with the institute.